Action
Notice of safety advisory.
Summary
On June 17, 2015, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued Safety Advisory 15-1 to advise rail fixed guideway public transportation systems (RFGPTS) with subway tunnel environments of forthcoming audits to be conducted by State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) with oversight jurisdiction in the assessment of tunnel ventilation systems, emergency procedures for fire and smoke events, training programs to ensure compliance with those emergency procedures, and application of industry best standards in maintenance and emergency procedures. Additionally, FTA instructed all State Safety Oversight Agencies to conduct inspections of the rail transit agencies' tunnel ventilation systems, and to audit the rail transit agencies within their jurisdiction for the purpose of determining the mileage and characteristics of subway tunnels, assessing the adequacy of the rail transit agencies' emergency procedures, ensuring compliance with those emergency procedures, and determining compliance with industry best standards in maintenance and emergency procedure. The FTA issued Safety Advisory 15-1 in response to an urgent safety recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The FTA Safety Advisory 15-1, "Audit All Rail Fixed Guideway Public Transportation Systems (RFGPTS) with Subway Tunnel Environments," is available on the FTA public Web site, http://www.fta.dot.gov/tso.html.